U.S. patent number 6,956,745 [Application Number 10/607,704] was granted by the patent office on 2005-10-18 for handling system for use with a blade in a blade server system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to International Business Machines Corporation. Invention is credited to Brian Michael Kerrigan, Gerard Francis Muenkel, Charles William Piper, Brian Alan Trumbo.
United States Patent |
6,956,745 |
Kerrigan , et al. |
October 18, 2005 |
Handling system for use with a blade in a blade server system
Abstract
A handling system for use with a blade is disclosed. The blade
is within a computer system. The handling system comprises a
chassis for holding the blade and a first handle member coupled to
the chassis. The handling system includes a second handle member
coupled to the chassis and being oppositely disposed to the first
handle member. Finally, the handling system includes a latching
mechanism which holds the first and second handle member in a
retracted position when engaged therewith. The latching member when
activated causes the first and second handle members to spring out
to a point where the first and second handle members can be used to
remove the chassis from the computer system. A method and system in
accordance with the present invention limits the handling system
profile dimensionally by providing a spring-loaded latching
mechanism for the handle members. In so doing, a blade server
system is provided that has a smaller footprint than conventional
server systems.
Inventors: |
Kerrigan; Brian Michael (Cary,
NC), Muenkel; Gerard Francis (Raleigh, NC), Piper;
Charles William (Burlington, NC), Trumbo; Brian Alan
(Apex, NC) |
Assignee: |
International Business Machines
Corporation (Armonk, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
33540352 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/607,704 |
Filed: |
June 27, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
361/726;
312/223.1; 312/223.2; 361/727; 361/732; 439/152; 439/325 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05K
7/1487 (20130101); H05K 7/1489 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H05K
7/16 (20060101); H05K 5/00 (20060101); H05K
005/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;361/754,755,798,683,727-732 ;439/152,153,155,325,328 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Field; Lynn
Assistant Examiner: Edwards; Anthony Q.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sawyer Law Group LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A handling system for use with a blade, the blade being within a
server system, the handling system comprising: a chassis for
holding the blade; a first handle member coupled to the chassis; a
second handle member coupled to the chassis and being oppositely
disposed to the first handle member; and a latching mechanism which
holds the first and second handle member in a retracted position
when engaged therewith, wherein the latching mechanism comprises an
actuator button, which when depressed, causes the first and second
handle members to spring out to a point where the first and second
handle members can be used to remove the chassis from the server
system.
2. The handling system of claim 1 wherein the latching mechanism is
spring loaded.
3. The handling system of claim 1 wherein the latching mechanism
further comprises: a first cam member engageably coupled to the
actuator button; a second cam member engageably coupled to the
actuator button and oppositely disposed to the first cam member,
the first cam member holding the first handle member in a retracted
position and the second cam member holding the second handle member
in a refracted position when the actuator button is engaged with
the first and second cam members.
4. The handling system of claim 3 wherein each of the first and
second cam members is spring loaded.
5. The handling system of claim 4 wherein the handle members can be
conformed to a specified dimensional footprint when in a retracted
position.
6. The handling system of claim 1 where the first and second handle
members can be latched simultaneously.
7. The handling system of claim 1 wherein the first and second
handle members can be latched independently.
8. The handling system of claim 4 wherein a spring is coupled to
each handle member, wherein each spring acts to spring the handle
member out as well as spring-load the latching mechanism.
9. A server system comprising: a first chassis; and a plurality of
servers located within the first chassis; each of the plurality of
servers including a handling system coupled thereto; the handling
system comprising a second chassis for holding a blade; a first
handle member coupled to the second chassis; a second handle member
coupled to the second chassis and being oppositely disposed to the
first handle member; and a latching mechanism which holds the first
and second handle member in a retracted position when engaged
therewith, wherein the latching mechanism comprises an actuator
button, which when depressed, causes the first and second handle
members to spring out to a point where the first and second handle
members can be used to remove the second chassis from the first
chassis.
10. The server system of claim 9 wherein the latching mechanism is
spring loaded.
11. The server system of claim 9 wherein the latching mechanism
further comprises: a first cam member engageably coupled to the
actuator button; a second cam member engageably coupled to the
actuator button and oppositely disposed to the first cam member,
the first cam member holding the first handle member in a retracted
position and the second cam member holding the second handle member
in a retracted position when the actuator button is engaged with
the first and second cam members.
12. The server system of claim 11 wherein each of the first and
second cam members is spring loaded.
13. The server system of claim 12 wherein the handle members can be
conformed to a specified dimensional footprint when in a retracted
position.
14. The server system of claim 9 where the first and second handle
members can be latched simultaneously.
15. The server system of claim 9 wherein the first and second
handle members can be latched independently.
16. The server system of claim 12 wherein a spring is coupled to
each handle member, wherein each spring acts to spring the handle
member out as well as spring-load the latching mechanism.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to server systems and more
particularly to a handling system for use on blades within a server
system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In today's environment, a computing system often includes several
components, such as servers, hard drives, and other peripheral
devices. These components are generally stored in racks. For a
large company, the storage racks can number in the hundreds and
occupy huge amounts of floor space. Also, because the components
are generally free standing components, i.e., they are not
integrated, resources such as floppy drives, keyboards and
monitors, can not be shared. A system has been developed by
International Business Machines Corp. of Armonk, N.Y., that bundles
the computing system described above into a compact operational
unit. The system is known as an IBM eServer BladeCenter..TM.
FIG. 1 is a front, top and right side exploded perspective view of
the IBM eServer BladeCenter. Referring to this figure, main chassis
CH1 houses all the components of the server blade system. Up to 14
server blades PB1 through PB14 (or other blades, such as storage
blades) are hot pluggable into the 14 slots in the front of chassis
CH1. The term "server blade" or simply "blade" is used throughout
the specification and claims, but it should be understood that
these terms are not limited to blades that only perform "processor"
or "server" functions, but also include blades that perform other
functions, such as storage blades, which typically include hard
disk drives and whose primary function is data storage.
Server blades provide the processor, memory, hard disk storage and
firmware of an industry standard server. In addition, they include
keyboard, video and mouse ("KVM") selection via a control panel, an
onboard service processor, and access to the floppy and CD-ROM
drives in the media tray. A daughter card is connected via an
onboard PCI-X interface and is used to provide additional
high-speed links to switch modules SM3 and SM4 (described below).
Each server blade also has a front panel with 5 LEDs to indicate
current status, plus four push-button switches for power on/off,
selection of server blade, reset, and NMI for core dumps for local
control.
Blades may be "hot swapped" without affecting the operation of
other blades in the system. A server blade is typically implemented
as a single slot card (394.2 mm.times.226.99 mm); however, in some
cases a single server blade may require two slots. A server blade
can use any microprocessor technology as long as it compliant with
the mechanical and electrical interfaces, and the power and cooling
requirements of the server blade system. For redundancy, server
blades have two signal and power connectors; one connected to the
upper connector of the corresponding slot of midplane MP (described
below), and the other connected to the corresponding lower
connector of the midplane. Server blades interface with other
components in the server blade system via the following midplane
interfaces: 1) Gigabit Ethernet (2 per blade; required); 2) Fibre
Channel (2 per blade; optional); 3) management module serial link;
4) VGA analog video link; 4) keyboard/mouse USB link; 5) CD-ROM and
floppy disk drive ("FDD") USB link; 6) 12 VDC power; and 7)
miscellaneous control signals. These interfaces provide the ability
to communicate to other components in the server blade system such
as management modules, switch modules, the CD-ROM and the FDD.
These interfaces are duplicated on the midplane to provide
redundancy. A server blade typically supports booting from the
media tray CDROM or FDD, the network (Fibre channel or Ethernet),
or its local hard disk drive.
A media tray MT includes a floppy disk drive and a CD-ROM drive
that can be coupled to any one of the 14 blades. The media tray
also houses an interface board on which is mounted interface LEDs,
a thermistor for measuring inlet air temperature, and a 4-port USB
controller hub. System level interface controls consist of power,
location, over temperature, information, and general fault LEDs and
a USB port. Each of the blades includes a handling system HS1-HS14
to allow for removal of the blade from the blade server system. The
handling systems HS1 and HS4 are there to allow for the blade to be
serviced or replaced as needed.
FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate a handling system HS1 for a blade in the
blade server system. The handling system HS1 includes two handles
10 and 12 which each independently engage its own holding portion
14 and 16. The two handles 10 and 12 and holding portions 14 and 16
are attached to a chassis 18 which is coupled to the server blade
(not shown).
FIG. 2A illustrates the handling system HS1 when handles are held
by holding portions 14 and 16. FIG. 2B illustrates the handling
system when the handles 10 and 12 have just been disengaged from
the respective holding portions 14 and 16. Finally FIG. 2C
illustrates the handling system HS1 when the handles are fully
extended to allow for removal of the blades from the blade server
system.
The problem with the standard handling system HS1 is that the two
handle members are too large for the standard depth footprint
required for each blade, in some applications such as when the
blade server system is utilized for telecommunications equipment.
There is a standard for telecommunications equipment in which the
footprint is between 508 mm and 600 mm in length.
Accordingly, the protrusion of the handling system can extend
beyond that length and therefore is not appropriate. What is
desired is a way to provide a handling system that allows for easy
removal of the blade but at the same time requires less space and
fits within the desired footprint for telecommunications equipment
for telecommunications applications. It should be understood that
there are other areas where the footprint must be shorter also.
This problem is not limited to telecommunications equipment.
Accordingly, a system should be easy to implement, cost-effective,
and easy to use for removal of the chassis associated with the
blade environment. The present invention addresses such a need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A handling system for use with a blade is disclosed. The blade is
within a computer system. The handling system comprises a chassis
for holding the blade and a first handle member coupled to the
chassis. The handling system includes a second handle member
coupled to the chassis and being oppositely disposed to the first
handle member. Finally, the handling system includes a latching
mechanism which holds the first and second handle member in a
retracted position when engaged therewith. The latching member when
activated causes the first and second handle members to spring out
to a point where the first and second handle members can be used to
remove the chassis from the computer system.
A method and system in accordance with the present invention limits
the handling system profile dimensionally by providing a
spring-loaded latching mechanism for the handle members. In so
doing, a blade server system is provided that has a smaller
footprint than conventional server systems.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front, top and right side exploded perspective view of
a server blade system of the present invention.
FIG. 2A illustrates the handling system when handles are held by
holding portions.
FIG. 2B illustrates the handling system when the handles have just
been disengaged from the respective holding portions.
FIG. 2C illustrates the handling system when the handles are fully
extended to allow for removal of the blades from the blade server
system.
FIG. 3A illustrates the handling system for a blade.
FIG. 3B illustrates the handling system after the mechanism is just
depressed.
FIG. 3C is a detailed view of the spring loaded feature for each of
the cam members.
FIG. 3D illustrates the handling system when the handles are fully
extended to allow for removal of the blades from the blade server
system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention relates generally to server systems and more
particularly to a handling system for use on blades within a server
system. The following description is presented to enable one of
ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is
provided in the context of a patent application and its
requirements. Various modifications to the preferred embodiment and
the generic principles and features described herein will be
readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, the present
invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment shown but
is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles
and features described herein.
A method and system in accordance with the present invention limits
the handling system profile dimensionally by providing a
spring-loaded latching mechanism for the handle members. In so
doing, a blade server system is provided that has a smaller
footprint than conventional server systems. To describe the
features of the present invention in more detail refer now to the
following description in conjunction with the accompanying
figures.
FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate a handling system 100 for a blade in
accordance with the present invention. The handling system 100
includes a first and second handle members 102a-102b. The handle
members 102a-102b are engagedly coupled to the chassis The handle
members 102a and 102b and latching mechanism 104 are coupled to the
chassis 101. The chassis 101 holds the blade (not shown).
The latching mechanism 104 comprises an actuator button 106 and two
cam members 108a and 108b oppositely disposed of each other. FIG.
3A illustrates the handling system 100 when the latching mechanism
104 engages the handle members 102a and 102b. As is seen, the cam
members 108a and 108b are engagedly coupled to the handles 102a and
102b respectively. As is seen in this embodiment, the design
profile of the handle members is much lower than that shown in
FIGS. 2A-2C, thereby allowing the handling system 100 to conform to
the specified footprint.
FIG. 3B illustrates the handling system after the actuator button
is just depressed. As is seen, when the button 106 is depressed the
cam members 108a and 108b disengage from each of the handle members
102a and 102b, thereby allowing the handle members 102a and 102b to
spring out. The handle members 102a and 102b spring out, since each
is spring actuated, via the cam members 108a and 108b. In so doing,
the handle members 102a and 102b spring out far enough so that they
can be easily handled by a user and thereby allowing for the
removal of the chassis along with its blade from the server
system.
FIG. 3C is a detailed view of the spring loaded feature for each of
the cam members. As is seen, a spring 202 associated with the cam
member 108 engages the handle member 102 to cause the handle member
102 to spring upward when the actuator button 106 is depressed. It
is also seen that the lip 204 of the handle member 202 engages a
lip 206 of the actual cam member 108 to engage the handle
member.
FIG. 3D illustrates the handling system 100 when the handle members
102a and 102b are fully extended to allow for removal of the blades
from the blade server system.
A method and system in accordance with the present invention limits
the handling system profile dimensionally by providing a
spring-loaded latching mechanism for the handle members. In so
doing, a blade server system is provided that has a smaller
footprint than conventional server systems.
Although the present invention has been described in accordance
with the embodiments shown, one of ordinary skill in the art will
readily recognize that there could be variations to the embodiments
and those variations would be within the spirit and scope of the
present invention. For example, although the present invention has
been described with respect to the eServer BladeCenter system one
of ordinary skill in the art recognizes that the handling system
could be used in a variety of environments and that use would be
within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly,
many modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art
without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended
claims.
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